Protection
by Draugur
Summary: When she learns of her new friend Satoshi's despair at home, Shion decides to protect him by all means. A year later, Keiichi learns about a student who used to go to his school. With Rena's help, he finds out about a wound which has never really closed.
1. A Jack and Two Queens

**Protection**

A Higurashi no Naku Koro ni fan fiction by Draugur

 **1\. A Jack and Two Queens**

 _Shouwa 58 (1983)_

Keiichi holds his cards firmly, like he's afraid someone might take them away forcefully. "Alright ... here comes my come-from-behind victory!"

Looking at the sweat trickling down his forehead, Rena snickers. She likes to watch Keiichi when he's all fired up, talking in excitement and making a lot of noise. It's always fun to watch someone who's doing something with all his passion.

"Let's see what you've got, Rena!"

The girl smiles joyously. "All right, Keiichi-kun, but don't complain to me afterwards ..."

"No way!" Keiichi's eyes are lit by sparks of tension. "Come on!"

"I've got this ..." Rena draws one card from her hand and reveals it to the others. Rika and Satoko are watching. They folded some time ago, not trusting their hands of cards. While Satoko looks at the cards intently, Rika is just relaxing, leaning against the back of her chair. Rena puts the card on top of the desk, which turns out to be the jack of hearts.

"Come on, Rena, why don't you bare it all?"

"Haoo, Keiichi-kun, that's not a proper thing to ask an innocent girl ..."

"What? Your hand of cards is the only thing I'm interested in at the moment." Keiichi puts the queen of hearts on the desk, placing it opposite Rena's jack of hearts.

"What a romantic showdown," Rika says. "I wonder what will happen next."

"Rika-chan ... when I'm winning, there's no time for romance!" Keiichi grins toward Rika, stroking her head. "What do you think of this, Rena?"

"Looks nice, Keiichi-kun ... but here's some unexpected company for these two lovebirds." She takes another card from her hand and reveals it. It's the queen of diamonds.

"What? That's nothing ..." Keiichi frowns. "I had expected something more spectacular, considering the way you were acting mysteriously before."

"You don't know the danger of another lady interfering with a loving couple, do you?" Rena grins mischievously.

"Well, what loving couple did you interfere with, as you seem to know something about that?"

"What? I didn't do such a thing ... I never did ..." Rena blushes. Keiichi and Satoko start laughing. Only Rika looks at Rena in a serious way.

"Never mind, Rena." Rika approaches Rena, who is looking down at the desk, and strokes her wrist.

Keiichi frowns. "Sorry. Did I say something wrong? I was only joking."

"It's no problem, Keiichi. Let's finish this. Satoko and I have to go home." Keiichi wonders why Rika answered instead of Rena.

Hesitantly, Keiichi continues revealing his hand. "So look at this, Rena! One, two, three!" With a confident expression, he puts down three aces next to his queen of hearts.

"Wow, Keiichi-san, that's great! I didn't expect that!" Satoko stares at the desk. "Look, Rika! Keiichi-san has got himself a threesome!"

"Mi- ... Satoko, that's not the right term." Rika grins widely, while Keiichi tries to restrain his laughter.

"Hey! What are you sneering at? Are you making fun of me? Rena-san ..." Within a few seconds, tears form in Satoko's eyes. She scurries to Rena like a frightened animal. "They're being mean to me ..."

"Haooo, Satoko-chan's crying! How dare you treat her like that! So cute, I'm gonna take her home!" It seems like a flash of lightning hits the classroom. A few seconds later, Keiichi and Rika are lying outstretched on the floor, while Rena is clutching Satoko tightly.

"Ow, thanks, you can stop now, Rena-san!" Satoko is gasping.

"No, I'll never let you go, Satoko-chan!" Rena presses her cheek against Satoko's in ecstasy.

Holding his head and moaning, Keiichi stands up and sits down at the desk. "Alright, Rena ... Can you beat this hand of mine?"

"Can I beat that hand, can I? Rena will show you, haoo!" She lets go of Satoko, who is panting for air. Then she takes her cards and places the rest of her hand next to her queen of diamonds and her jack of hearts. "Ten, nine, eight. That's a straight, Keiichi-kun." She sits back, smirking innocently.

"But Keiichi-san's ... sorry, what is it called?"

"Three of a kind", Rika whispers from below.

"... Keiichi-san's three of a kind is still better, isn't it?"

"No, Satoko. A straight is better than three of a kind."

"Are you sure, Rika-chan?" Keiichi also thinks his hand is better. "I'm going to ask my dad about it. I bet he knows very much about poker."

"If only ..." Rena looks away from the desk, at some distant spot in the classroom. Keiichi follows the direction of her glance. It seems as if she's staring at one of the lockers.

"If only ... what, Rena?"

Rena smiles at Keiichi. "Oh, nothing. I was just thinking of somebody else who knows a lot about poker."

Keiichi looks at Rika, who is holding her forehead, carefully touching the bruise she got when Rena attacked her. "Rika-chan, it seems Rena knows dubious people who are involved in gambling. We must take care of this girl, lest she gets harmed by them."

"Mi-, when they try to harm her, she should just punch their faces," Rika replies, pouting.

When Rena looks at Rika's sulky face, she can't hold back any longer. She pulls Rika up from her chair and spins her around, saying she wants to take her home.

"No, you can't, Rena-san! It's Rika's turn for dinner tonight! If you take her home, I'll have to cook for myself ... that's not going to happen!"

Rena stops spinning around and takes a dizzy Rika back to her chair.

"Keiichi-kun ... you know, that person isn't dubious at all. You shouldn't say things like that unless you know who we're talking about."

"Forgive me, Rena. I'm sure he's a nice guy."

"No ... It's a girl. But I'm afraid she's far away from us now."

Keiichi looks puzzled. He never heard of that girl. "You mean ... she transferred schools?"

Rena is looking down at the desk, lost in thought. "I guess you can put it like that."

Suddenly a dark atmosphere fills the classroom. They are sitting at the desk in silence. No-one wants to say anything. The noise and the jokes of the club game have disappeared, leaving a sort of emptiness which swallows every possible word for a while.

"Let's go home, everybody," Rena finally says with a hushed voice.

Keiichi hopes Satoko will say anything normal, like she's hungry and wants Rika to cook dinner as soon as possible. Or maybe Rika could easen the mood with some sweet remark to make them all feel better. But there's nothing but an uncomfortable silence. Once again Keiichi thinks that he, the newcomer, thoughtlessly said something which hurt the others. But he doesn't know what was wrong with what he asked, and he's a bit upset because he thinks they shouldn't treat him like that only because of such a simple question. He feels as if they're leaving him out for some reason.

They put the deck of cards away and leave the classroom. When they're walking down the corridor towards the entrance, Keiichi notices he left something in his locker.

"Sorry, everybody! Could you wait a minute?"

"Keiichi-san ... my stomach feels empty. I think Rika and I are going to leave now."

"Fine, Satoko. What about you, Rena?"

"I'll wait here, Keiichi-kun. Hurry up so we can go home."

"Thank you!" He runs back to the classroom and opens his locker. While he's putting his things into his schoolbag, he remembers that moment when Rena looked at the end of the classroom where he's standing now. Since he has moved in, he has never paid much attention to the lockers. He feels sorry for Rena who is waiting in the corridor, but his curiousness wins and so he takes a look at the lockers. Most of them are labeled with names of students.

"Tomita ... Okamura ... Furude ... Houjou ..." After a few more lockers, he stops. Was he mistaken when he read that name before? "Houjou ... Houjou." There are two lockers labeled with the name "Houjou". He reads the given name. " ... Satoshi." He's never heard that name. But Rena also mentioned a girl, didn't she? Keiichi moves his eyes along the rows of lockers. Suddenly he finds another name he can't connect to anyone in his class. He looks at the first two kanji characters. "Sono ... zaki." He knows that name. The Sonozaki family is one of the wealthiest families around. Somebody even told him there's a yakuza clan of the same name in Shishibone city. But he doesn't know of a student called Sonozaki. "Mi ... on." Sonozaki Mion? Is she the one Rena mentioned before?

"Keiichi-kun?" When Keiichi turns around, he sees Rena standing near the entry. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"I ... think so." Keiichi hesitates. Is she talking about the things he wanted to collect? Or did she guess that he wanted to check the lockers?

"Is something wrong? Is it?" Rena looks a bit worried.

"No, it's alright. Rena ... did I say something wrong before? You know ... about that girl you mentioned when we were playing poker?"

"It's not your fault. You're new here, so you couldn't have known about her." But Rena doesn't look as if she's going to tell him these things now.

Anyway, he decides not to ask her, so they spend the time during their way home peacefully. Though Keiichi can't forget the two names on the lockers. Maybe those two students really transferred schools. But the dark mood which was filling the classroom keeps haunting his mind until he falls asleep.

* * *

 _Author's Note: This is a story which I wrote some time ago. Recently I worked on it a little and here it is to celebrate Watanagashi in the year Heisei 27 (2015). Of course, my other story Yadonashi-hen will also be continued._


	2. Goodbye to Innocence

**2\. Goodbye to Innocence**

 _Shouwa 57 (1982)_

I'm sure I had never felt anything like this before. Though it reminded me very much of the days of childhood. Those days before the world turned upside down and I got lost in a situation I couldn't understand.

In those days, many old people treated me very kindly. Today I know they didn't do it because they liked me so much, though I'm sure I was a very pretty child then. I'm sure they did it because of my family. Some of them rubbed my head from time to time. You have to be a very happy and innocent child to enjoy something like that. Today, if a stranger, who only happens to know me because he knows my father, came to me and stroked my head, I would tell him to stop or I'd get my wooden sword and practice some kendo on him. Or I would use my stun gun, which is modified so it can hurt bad guys a lot. Well, I guess nobody would dare rub my head nowadays, anyway.

At least, that was what I thought before I met Houjou Satoshi. He's rather shy and silent, so he's not the kind of guy you would expect to make such an unusual physical contact with somebody like me. But when he met me, he thought that I was my sister, Mion. So I was no stranger to him. When I remembered this experience during the next days, I was jealous that he had been stroking Mion's head, not mine. Though I happened to be "Mion" at that moment. That feeling became love. At first I couldn't admit it to myself, because I needed to feel strong and independent. But when I thought of his angelic smile and his cute insecure behavior, my strong ego crumbled and dissolved into tears of desire.

In the following days and weeks I tried to be with him as much as possible. I watched him play baseball with the Hinamizawa Fighters. There I met his coach Irie Kyousuke, who told me of the stressful environment Satoshi was living in. He had to face an abusive aunt, Houjou Tamae, and a mean uncle, Houjou Teppei. Kasai didn't like to talk about him, but when I begged him he told me that Teppei was a violent hoodlum with an extensive criminal record. The best part about him was the fact that he was absent most of the time, hanging around his girlfriend's apartment in Okinomiya.

But that made the aunt hurt Satoshi and his sister Satoko even more, taking her trouble out on the two kids who had to live with her after her husband's brother had died in a strange accident. As that accident was labeled the second "curse of Oyashiro-sama", she thought it was her personal curse having to take care of Satoshi and Satoko. So she took care of them as badly as possible. Satoshi suffered even more because his sister always hid behind his back when the aunt was bullying her. So he had to deal with all of her cruelty, even when he hadn't done anything to make her angry.

One day Satoshi didn't show up at the baseball team anymore and Irie told me he was working at a part-time job. The coach looked worried, so I knew Satoshi was in a bad condition. Because I was worried too, I convinced Mion to let me change places with her and go to her school for one day. I was so glad to meet Satoshi, but when I saw his face, my joy melted away quickly. His bitter expression made me feel like I was his enemy. When I went to the corridor and asked him why he was acting in such a hostile way towards me, all he said was "You should just ask that yourself." I couldn't stop my tears from flowing but that didn't change his behavior at all.

I went to the classroom, not able to concentrate on anything but my sorrow. Then something happened which made me absolutely furious. Satoko, his little sister, started whining like crazy just because she had spilled her lunch on the floor. I remembered what Irie had told me. Satoshi had to take all the blows that were intended to hit Satoko, who acted rebelliously towards the aunt and then hid behind her brother's back. Overpowered by my anger, I forgot my sister's role in this class and was just going to stand up and teach her a lesson.

The same second, a girl the same age as Satoko appeared in front of me. I was shocked because her face told me she knew what I was going to do, before I had even started my attack.

"Mii ... please don't hurt Satoko even more. She's not crying because she's spoiled. You know what she's going through at home."

I still felt like taking my anger out on somebody, so I grabbed that girl's arm violently. I felt the others' shocked glances upon me, but I didn't care.

"I know what she's going through, but Satoshi is going through something a lot worse than that! You know she's always hiding behind his back!"

While I was talking to the younger girl, intimidating her with a fierce look, I saw another girl called Rena, maybe a little younger than me, helping Satoko with her spilled food and comforting her. The chance to teach that Satoko a lesson had gone, and that was the fault of the girl in front of me.

I tried to remember her name. She had a very cute face and a hime-style haircut. This girl had to be Rika from the Furude family, one of the three families who had run the village since centuries. Mion had told me Rika was some kind of psychic who could predict the future. While I was still holding her arm and giving her a grim look, I noticed Satoshi had come back to console Satoko, who was still crying, but had calmed down a little. When I saw how fondly he was taking care of her petty troubles, I noticed I had nearly made a big mistake. Attacking his little sister would have made me look like a monster in Satoshi's eyes. It would also have been a problem for Mion. I felt ashamed of myself. But the urge to do something was even stronger.

Rika, though I had grabbed her arm with all my strength, was showing no pain.

"We're all helpless ... Mii."

I noticed the pause before my sister's name as she used it. Had I given away my identity? That was not my deepest concern at the moment. She didn't look as if she was going to tell anybody. That made me feel relieved, but I felt I still had to say something mean to her.

"You may be helpless. I'll find something to free Satoshi-kun from his troubles."

I didn't say that because I really knew how to help him. I just wanted to defy Rika. But the girl looked frightened, as if I had told her something terrible. I let go of her arm, and she went back to her desk, looking at me mysteriously. As if she was curious what I was going to do. But I didn't have the intention of telling her about my plans.

When Mion got a call from Satoshi, she transferred it to me. He wanted to apologize for behaving so coldly when we met in school. She knew it had been me, so she let me talk to him.

"Mion ... Could you take Satoko to the Watanagashi festival for me?"

I asked him why he couldn't go to the festival himself.

"Ummm ... I have ... things to do."

I guessed he had to work at his part-time job. The village festival was right ahead. It had become a large festival since "Oyashiro-sama's curse" had made the villagers feel obliged to visit the festival because they were afraid they might be cursed if they didn't participate. I told him I was going to take Satoko there, though I was still angry about her. I had even wished she would die soon. But it was Mion who would have to take her there, so that wasn't my problem.

Still I couldn't forget what I had said to Rika that day. Satoshi's friends had claimed they were helpless. What a nice excuse for not doing anything to save him from his environment. It was easy for me to come up with something. It was an extreme measure, but I felt everything was alright as long as I could free Satoshi from his misery. I had considered to kill his sister, but that would have left him with his terrible aunt. No, it was the aunt who had to die. And I knew when to do it. I was going to make it the fourth curse of Oyashiro-sama.

The day of the festival came, and I begged my old friend Kasai to take me to the village. He disagreed at first, because I wasn't allowed to go to the village, but I told him I was going to see a sick friend, dressed as Mion. Everybody was going to attend the festival anyway, so my evil grandma and all the other people from the Three Families wouldn't see me. With a big sigh, he agreed, after I had threatened to do something even more reckless if he didn't help me.

Kasai picked me up with another car, so we wouldn't be noticed at once as Sonozaki family members. I told him to park the car in an inconspicuous place, not too far away from the Houjou family residence, and wait there for me. Of course I had not revealed to him that it was the Houjou house I was going to visit. Mion had told me where they lived. She said the aunt was very unpopular in the village, so she wasn't going to go to the Watanagashi. She knew the villagers would bully her if she appeared there. I hadn't been able to make sure every detail of my plan would fit. I remembered my escape from the horrible St. Lucia Academy. Such ventures can never be planned without relying on your own luck. I went to the house and rang the bell, covering my hand not to leave any trace, knowing that the aunt might not even be there.

But she was at home, as I had expected. She opened the door with a grumpy face.

"Aren't you ... that Sonozaki girl?"

I faked a desperate expression.

"Something happened to Satoko-chan! Please, come quickly!"

She started complaining about how she was plagued with that child and that Satoko had brought her nothing but misfortune. Then she said she would tell Satoshi about it, because Satoko was his sister, while she wasn't even a blood relative. So if he was home, he should rescue her.

I was shocked because I had thought Satoshi was elsewhere to take care of something at his part-time job. How could I have been so thoughtless?

"We don't have time for that! Satoko-chan is in danger, you must help me! We were playing in the forest and now she's stuck between two trees. She's in pain ..."

Tamae answered from the first floor where she was looking for Satoshi.

"He isn't here anyway. What did you say? In the forest? I thought everyone was at the bloody festival!"

She came down the stairs with a puzzled, yet even scarier face.

"We were playing at the festival and came up with climbing a high tree as a punishment game ..."

I hoped this would sound like one of Mion's crazy ideas. The aunt looked at the bag I was carrying with me. Bloody hell, I was looking suspicious. Why should someone whose friend just had an accident carry a bag around?

"I thought we could take some band aids and bandages with us, so I brought this bag. Do you have these things?"

"Are you kidding? Even if I had these things, I wouldn't waste them just because Satoko got herself into trouble. She'll survive without stuff like that."

What a mean person, I thought. Our glances met.

"Alright then, let's get it over with. Satoko will be in real trouble for this!"

Tamae got ready to leave the house. I had made the first step.

She left the house with me. So far, my luck had not let me down, though my plan had proven to be incomplete. But now I was heading straightly toward my goal.

"Let me tell you something," the aunt growled. "I'm only coming with you because I wanted to go to the forest anyway! Satoshi told me there's some used furniture people got rid off. He told me to go to a clearing somewhere in the middle of the forest. When we have got Satoko out of her mess, she'll have to lend me a hand! If she's not too stupid to do that ..."

I couldn't listen to her selfish drivel anymore. We kept walking toward the spot where it was going to happen. I couldn't wait to finish my plan.

"We're here."

That was the first thing I said after letting her talk for a long time, while we were walking deeper into the forest and she was going on and on about Satoshi and Satoko being such a nuisance for her. We were standing in the middle of the forest now. Was it the right spot? I was sure no-one could see us, but that was only one of two problems I had to face. What if we had come to the wrong spot? Anyway, it was too late to ask myself that. I reached into my pocket.

The aunt didn't notice what I was doing.

"What do you mean we're here? Where's Satoko?"

She was looking around with a puzzled expression.

I answered her very lowly.

"She's not here ... Though I can't stand her, I don't want her to see this."

I wanted to tell her what I was about to do, but that would have been risky. So I just put my taser to her neck, before she couldn't do anything, and after a nasty buzzing sound, she fell down to the ground.

I reached into my bag and took out a thin rain cape, two gloves and a sharp knife from the kitchen in my Okinomiya apartment. I hated to put the rain cape on because the air was warm and humid. But that was the least of my problems. I wasn't afraid of killing her, I just didn't want to hurt her awkwardly so that she would regain her consciousness and scream. In the end, I cut her throat deeply and the rain cape became speckled with gushes of blood. It was like the ultimate goodbye to childhood and innocence. While I was listening to the horrible sounds of Tamae's body suffocating with its own blood, all pretty and clean girly thoughts and views dissolved, to reveal the indelibly stained soul of a sinful adult. But I didn't mind as long as it was for my beloved Satoshi. I did this so that he could keep a little of his childlike purity. And if it was still possible for me to be with him, maybe we could share what he had kept in his heart.

When her last struggle was over, I grabbed her hair and dragged the body through the forest. I had expected her to be heavy, but not that heavy. I was afraid the scalp would come loose, so I would have to take her hand, which was even creepier to imagine. It felt like an eternity until I had reached my destination, the notorious Onigafuchi swamp. It seemed right to lay her to rest in a place named after the legend about the demonic heritage of the village. As it was Watanagashi, I was just fulfilling the village's old duty to offer a human sacrifice to the demons. The trace of blood was something to worry about, but the rainy season, which I hate usually, would be of great help. I was sure heaven would be my accomplice and wash it all away before someone could detect that she was killed here, in the depth of the forest.

I looked for the right spot to push her into the muddy water. With stones from the surroundings of the swamp, I weighed the corpse. Then I wrapped the dirty rain cape around her, careful not to soil my clothes, and tied it with a cord. A foul present for those creatures who lurk beneath the swamp, as the legend of Onigafuchi tells. Finally I shoved the heavy bundle into the swamp. It took a long while until the dirty water covered it completely. What if somebody had come to this place and seen me without me noticing him? I was doomed then. This was my risk. Satoshi would still be free. He didn't have to worry about the girl with the ill-fated name of Sonozaki.

Kasai had waited for two hours when I came back to his car. He was angry and asked me thousands of questions which I answered most vaguely. People were coming back from the festival and he didn't want to be recognized. But I couldn't care less, knowing I had saved the boy I loved. So I just smiled and thanked Kasai for his patience. Still mumbling about my unreliability, he drove me home.

As soon as we had arrived in Okinomiya, I tried to ring Mion up. Onibaba never answers the phone herself, so I didn't have to worry about that. When I got my sister on the phone, it was late in the evening and she sounded like she had had a few drinks. But when she realized what I was trying to tell her, she became sober in a few seconds. I didn't need to say clearly what I had done. Being identical twins, we are able to communicate on a deeper level. I felt sorry to get her involved in my crime, but after all, Satoshi was her friend too. She had even known him much longer than me. I didn't say that, but in fact she should have said thanks to me because I had found a way to help him that they were too weak to tread. By the tone of her voice, I could clearly imagine her frightened, pale face.

But as the next head of the family, she regained her composure and we made a plan how to use the power of the Sonozaki family to cover the crime up. The police had decided to keep the serial deaths on the Watanagashi day from the eyes of the public. Of course some people would take notice of her absence, but the Sonozaki family would spread the word that Houjou Tamae had decided to leave Hinamizawa. Fed up with the villagers' hatred and a stubborn foster child, she was going to try to break up her husband's affair and live with him in Okinomiya to get away from all her troubles. So Teppei would be the main suspect, if there was any investigation at all. However, Mion told me it had been a bad idea to dump the body in the swamp. If I had buried Satoshi's aunt somewhere, it would have been easy to dig the body up and hide it in a more secure place. Maybe the body could still be retrieved, but she wasn't too sure about that.

The day after Watanagashi, I found out that Satoshi had appeared at school like normal. He seemed distressed, but when he heard the rumor about Tamae having left Hinamizawa, Mion thought he felt relieved, even if he found it most strange that others knew about it earlier than him. However, it seems he decided to believe the rumor. Probably his aunt had threatened him from time to time that she was going to leave them, so that they would have to look after themselves and would have to move into a foster home in the end. My sister said he had smiled for the first time since a week or so. Also, he put his baseball bat back into his locker. He had frightened the younger students a lot by standing on the school premises on his own, practicing swings with a grim face. Mion and Rena had tried to talk him out of it, but he barely answered them. His condition must have been terribly bad. I felt I had rescued him just in time.

Now the future I had wished for was so near that I felt like I could touch it when I reached out for it.

 _Author's Note: Another year has passed and Watanagashi is here again. I can only hope that I find more time to work on my stories, but I won't abandon them. So again, thank you for your patience. As I said before, Yadonashi-hen is going to be continued for sure. I hope it will happen soon ..._


	3. A Visit

**3\. A Visit**

 _Shouwa 58 (1983)_

A few days after they played poker together which ended in a strange conversation, the club members sit together after finishing a memory game. Though Satoko had managed to switch cards secretly, Keiichi has won the game, which is a rare event in the club.

"I'm afraid of the punishment ..." Rena blushes when looking at Keiichi's victorious face. "Can't I put on that maid costume and serve you with a drink, Keiichi-kun?"

"Come on, Rena, play by the rules. I like it when you act as a maid, but as you suggest that to me yourself, I think you just like that costume. Maybe you could work in a maid cafe as a part-time job. They say the customers treat the maids with a special devotion."

Satoko wrinkles her nose. "I don't even want to know what Keiichi-san means by that. His dirty smile tells me all about it."

"Haoo, but I will get to work in a lovely maid outfit ... That's not too bad, is it? Is it?"

"Come on, Rena, I was only joking. You won't get around that punishment game we agreed on earlier."

"So I have to tell you a secret? Can I tell you in private? Can I?" Rena gives Keiichi a shy look which makes him enjoy the situation even more.

Keiichi looks at the other club members. He seems to consider if he should fulfill Rena's request.

"You should ask her about the colour of her underwear, ni-paa!" Rika is enjoying the situation while Rena is getting more and more afraid of what Keiichi will ask her to tell them.

"Well, Rika-chan ... that sounds nice, but I think I'll grant Rena's wish to tell her secret only to me."

"Oh, Keiichi-san, you're such a killjoy!" Satoko pouts with her arms folded in front of her chest.

"Well, Satoko, maybe you should win the next time we choose this for the punishment. Consider yourself lucky that we don't have punishments for playing dirty like you always do."

"O-ho-ho! I think most people who blame others for playing dirty, secretly wish they had come up with that trick first."

"Mi-, Satoko has a point there." Rika smiles while she's busy putting away the memory cards.

"Whatever, Rena will have to tell me her secret on our way home."

"I'm afraid Keiichi-kun is going to ask me something very embarrassing ..."

"In any case, prepare yourself. As a winner, I have a right to hear the whole truth and nothing but the truth."

"I bet Keiichi can be a severe judge, even if the witness is a cute girl like Rena."

"You're right, Rika-chan! Anything but the truth will be regarded as false witness, which is a horrible crime!"

A few minutes later, Keiichi and Rena are on their way home after saying goodbye to Satoko and Rika.

"Keiichi-kun ... will it be okay if I just tell you the colour of my underwear? Will it?" Rena asks Keiichi with a red face, obviously fearing he will ask something even more awkward.

"Rena, it seems you don't know me too well though we see each other almost every day. If you had been paying more attention to my gentlemanlike behavior, you'd know I would never ask a lady such an outrageous question." He rubs Rena's hair with a big grin.

"I really didn't know that, Keiichi-kun, I'm sorry ... I always thought you were a bit lecherous. I mean, I like you anyway."

"What? You must be joking! However, Rena, what I would really like to know ..."

"What is it? What is it?"

"Don't worry ... It's nothing embarrassing. Just tell me who that girl is."

"That girl ... you mean ..."

"I'm sure you remember. The one we were talking about after the game of poker." Keiichi keeps walking without noticing that Rena has stopped. She stands at the side of the road without any motion, looking at him with a serious expression.

"Yes ... It's only natural that you want to know. I wonder if I should have avoided talking about her in the first place."

Keiichi is startled, not only because Rena's voice comes from behind, but also because the tone of her voice has changed. He turns around slowly and looks at her face. It seems almost as if a new person is standing there, looking down at the gravel in deep concentration. The cute Rena who blushes so often, seems to be gone now. Does he know Rena at all? Is this the real Rena?

"What is it? Why have you stopped here?" Behind Rena, Keiichi sees a watermill. It is a lovely spot, specially in the late afternoon when the sun covers everything in golden light. Rena stands there, still not moving, inseparably connected to the beautiful scenery. He feels as if he's looking at a painting.

Then Rena gazes at him firmly with her deep eyes. "Let's go and meet her then."

Keiichi feels uneasy. Meet ... her? So this girl is here, in Hinamizawa? Why doesn't she go to school with them? Why doesn't he know her?

"Come this way, Keiichi-kun."

He follows her until he sees a big estate. He knows this traditional manor with the old thatched roof. This is the home of the Sonozaki family, one of the Three Families and nowadays the most influential of them. People say they rule the whole Shishibone area with their businesses and their political connections. So now he's going to meet this girl called Mion. She must be attending a private school, maybe far away. That's nothing strange, considering her background ...

"Keiichi-kun ... Did you ever hear of Oyashiro-sama's curse?"

"What? You mean ... these deaths which happen every year, at the Watanagashi day? I think Satoko and Rika's parents died that day, two or three years ago."

"That isn't everything, Keiichi-kun. The curse is a lot more ... it defines the rules for living in Hinamizawa. I was told that when I was six or seven years old. Oyashiro-sama's rules are very simple. Once you live in Hinamizawa, stay there. Don't doubt your friends. Build a bond of trust and help each other. Otherwise, there'll be a curse. You'll feel the presence of Oyashiro-sama at night. And if you don't understand that it's the curse, something terrible will happen to you. That girl experienced something like that."

Keiichi wants to say he doesn't believe anything of what Rena is telling him. But looking at Rena's serious face, he doesn't even have the courage to doubt what she said.

"It's time you know about the curse. For people who live here without that knowledge, it might be too late one day."

They have arrived at the gate. Rena rings the bell and talks to somebody by the intercom. "This is Ryuuguu ... I've brought a friend ... Yes, he knows ... Oh, I'm sorry to hear that! Alright, thank you." Keiichi notices some surveillance cameras. They don't make him feel good at all. What is this all about?

"Come on, Keiichi-kun." They enter the premises of the Sonozaki estate. Keiichi is amazed by the proportions of the garden. The house is not less impressive. It looks rather old and it's not taken care of very well, but the size alone is astonishing. It must have lots of rooms. Maybe he could enjoy the sight if the circumstances were different. This is not a fun visit to a friend. Rena's words about the curse begin to take hold of his thoughts. Should he open his mind to what she just told him, so it doesn't catch him off guard one day? Or does opening your mind to this belief allow the curse to start working?

Rena exchanges some words with a lady who seems to be some kind of housekeeper. "I'm sorry Oryou-sama doesn't feel well at the moment. Please say hello to her and tell her I hope she'll get better soon ... Oh, thank you. We'll go to Mii-chan's room now."

Mii-chan? So that's what Rena calls her. It sounds cute. Oryou must be the highly revered head of the family. Keiichi feels relieved that they don't have to attend upon her. He's not good at dealing with old people, specially the high-class ones.

"Rena ... Why doesn't Mion-san come down to welcome us? I don't mean to question her manners, but ... usually people come to the door when you visit them, right?"

"In this house, nothing is as usual, Keiichi-kun. Particularly since last year."

"Last year? You mean ... the curse?"

"Yes. It's this room. Please don't make much noise. She's very sensitive."

Keiichi enters the room. He sees a girl, probably a bit older than him, in an armchair. She wears a beautiful kimono with traditional embroidery on it. Her body looks shapely, but faint. Long, straight hair frames a pretty, but very pale face with an expression which looks kind of empty to Keiichi. It seems like she spends most of her time in her room. It hurts him to see a girl about his age looking so sad and lonely. She doesn't turn her face toward Keiichi or Rena. He even wonders if she has noticed their presence.

Keiichi's throat feels dry and he feels the urge to say something. He can't come up with something trivial, so he asks Rena about another subject that is bothering him. "Is Houjou Satoshi-san ... in a similar condition?" He thinks Mion can't hear him because he's whispering at the other end of the room.

Rena throws an angry look at him. In opposition to Keiichi, she is sure Mion can hear him very well. When Mion hears the name "Satoshi", her features are slightly distorted.

"Sorry, Keiichi-kun ... please don't say anything for a while. I'm going to talk to Mii-chan." Cautiously, Rena sits down on another chair near Mion and starts to talk to her about school life. Mion's features calm down slowly.

"Keiichi-kun is very fun. Satoko-chan likes him very much, they're always bickering." She giggles, while Keiichi wonders if she's telling the truth. Satoko likes him very much? Until today, he didn't think so.

Rena carries on. "He keeps losing when we're playing the club games, but today he won and he used my punishment to get to know you! Isn't that funny? You must come and join us again, Mii-chan. We're all practicing a lot, so that we can beat you in every game when you come back." She keeps talking in a friendly voice. From what she says, Keiichi notices that Mion used to be the class representative, which is currently Keiichi's role because he's the oldest student. She also was the leader of the club and it sounds like there could be no leader more energetic than Mion. It's too depressing to hear these stories and look at this weak, indifferent girl in her large armchair.

Finally, Rena finishes her report and beckons Keiichi over to her. "Now, Keiichi-kun, please say hello to Mion." Keiichi clears his throat. He has a hard time saying the simple expressions of greeting somebody. "Hello, Sonozaki-san. Let me introduce myself. I'm Maebara Keiichi. Please call me Keiichi, if you like. Let's be friendly to each other." Mion doesn't say anything. In fact, she didn't say anything since they came. At least she takes a look at Keiichi with her sad eyes. He asks himself if this is a good sign already. He feels sorry and uncomfortable. But he thinks he should not look at this girl as if she consisted of nothing more than her illness. She must be a great leader and friend, considering what Rena said.

They say goodbye and leave Mion to herself. She sits there like she did when they came, looking beautiful but weak, staring into the emptiness of her room.

As soon as they have left the manor, Keiichi says sorry to Rena. "Forgive me for that question about Satoshi. It seems my curiosity got the better of me."

"Actually, I should have warned you. Mii-chan and Satoshi-kun ... they were good friends, as we are. There's still more you don't know. Like Shii-chan. That's her twin sister, Shion."

"A twin sister? Identical twins, you mean?"

"Yes, it was stunning how they resembled each other. Their personalities were different, but if you knew them well, you could see how close they were. Anyway, something happened last year. Do you remember what I told you about the curse? I wonder why some people don't see the connection. Since then ... Mii-chan suffered from a depression first, and then it became apathy. Now she has people who help her with everything. Fortunately, her family is wealthy, so she's provided with everything she needs. She's still very lonely with only her grandma and the staff around. Her parents come to visit her very often, but they can't move in here because of their business in Okinomiya. It must be painful for you to look at her, but I guess it is even more painful for me, because I remember what she was like until last Watanagashi."

Watanagashi ... the time of Oyashiro-sama's curse. Keiichi is walking next to Rena in silence. Though he has so many questions, the sight of Mion haunts his mind, so that he's unable to ask Rena anything for a long while. All they're doing is listen to the Higurashi, crying as the daylight is slowly fading away.

* * *

 _Author's Note: I remember ... I promised uploads were going to be faster. It took me another year though. Sorry. BUT the story is finished and I'm going to post the remaining chapters one per week. Definitely. Happy Watanagashi to you all!  
_


End file.
